Maternity/Newborn/1st Year Photography

bumpybump · May 2017

Now that we are starting to reach the third trimester, let's discuss maternity, newborn, and capturing the 1st year via photography.

Are you going to do any or all of the above mentioned?
Have questions about these types of photography?
Need camera recommendations?
Want to share your maternity pictures?
Etc...

Note: there was a labor photography post awhile back about what pictures to take in the hospital. These are different topics but feel free to ask about that again if needed.

bumpybump · May 2017

We've selected our photographer for the newborn, 6 mo, and 1 yr photography sessions. Just need to put down the deposit. We did the same for DD and I'm so glad we did. Will not be doing maternity this time around. My belly looks almost identical to last time so I don't need/want to spend the extra money there.
We also bought a nice camera before DD was born and TBH, it isn't used a ton. My iPhone gets the most usage by far.

tova24 · May 2017

Right now I think I am only going to do photos at the hospital, Hanukkah photos, and 1st year photos. I want to send out birth announcements so I'm still scoping out my options for the pictures that will be taken right after delivery. I've been looking at designs for the birth announcements and there are so many choices!

britvahok · May 2017

I just put a deposit down on our newborn photographer and created a new pinterest page so I can pin cute newborn poses!!! I'm not doing maternity photos just because I don't feel comfortable!!

BlackNYellow · May 2017

We put down a deposit on a newborn photographer. She also does one year portrait sessions but the discount offered if you booked now wasn't all that great.

Where does everyone plan to order their birth announcements from?

@britvahok same. I am so uncomfortable with the idea.

knottie0d8cc4d43bacc09f · May 2017

We're doing a "baby's first year" package that includes a few photo shoots up until her 1st birthday. We substituted the 3-month shoot for a maternity one, so I'm excited to see how those turn out.

@BlackNYellow @tova24 I've been browsing birth announcements on Tiny Prints and Minted. They have adorable designs and you can get free matching envelopes with pre-printed addresses. Time saver! They also have a ton of promo codes to use. It's hard to choose the design before you know what photo you want, though.

littlebug2010 · May 2017

I have my maternity shoot set. My cousin is a photographer, and she is doing it for me as a gift. I'm hoping that she can come down for newborn shots too. We are trying to decide on a weekend, but because I have zero control over when I'll give birth, it's hard. She does wedding photography all summer, and is 4 hours away.

imwithbaby · May 2017

Not planning maternity.
Asked BFF to attend our homebirth and take pics since birth photography is like $1200!
Plan on doing professional Fresh 48 pics.

Mango517 · May 2017

Chiming in with my card source- Vista Print is great and such an affordable source for cards. I've used them for the past few years for our family holiday cards and am always happy with the final product, especially considering the price. I upgrade the paper to a nicer matte option and feel like that helps improve the quality. (You do also have to be careful when checking out because they try to sucker you into a million other purchases.) I will say that any Minted and Tiny Print cards I receive are really nice! Their designs are always adorable.

DeansGirl14 · May 2017

britvahok said:

I just put a deposit down on our newborn photographer and created a new pinterest page so I can pin cute newborn poses!!! I'm not doing maternity photos just because I don't feel comfortable!!

So... I'm sorry, not trying to be an asshole, but "newborn poses" creep me out. I've read that many of them are actually photo-shopped because babies don't naturally go that way; conversely, since babies are flexible, photographers sometimes do arrange them in certain ways (and the baby often needs to be sleeping, so I've read) and I'm just over here like... gahhhh! Newborns lay on their backs and waive their limbs around. Anything else posed is just... eep. They're cute without poses! And, an old friend of mine once had a photo of her newborn with her arms in the air and legs extended just so and she was dressed as a ballerina and the photo was taken in such a way as to make the baby look like she was standing en pointe... ugh, so creepy. She's a baby, not an adult, just photo her as a baby being a baby, she's cute enough as is.

I'm not trying to rain on your parade, sorry, I just... ugh.

Anyway, I would like to do professional family photos when the kid is a few months along. It's nice timing for Christmas cards. I think I'll use my wedding photographer but have to check rates (and convince DH...).

belmont1785 · May 2017

We do professional newborn plus family shots with a photographer. I am not a fan of fancy outfits or poses myself so we do very basic shots with basic clothing choices.

Then I just do a cheaper option for 3, 6, 9 month and 1 year. We use a store front photography place costs about $100.

And I don't do maternity photos except a few snapshots.

bumpybump · May 2017

@DeansGirl a VERY important part of any newborn photography is the safety of the newborn which includes any type of "posing." With DD's newborn session, we were in awe of how safe and nurturing the photographer was and we were also part of helping with the shoot (safe head placement and holding, etc). I personally don't want my child looking all sprawled out and ridiculous. Let's compare, shall we...

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/l0/7rzb3cjvgvny.png

sgrant432 · May 2017

I wasn't planing on doing maternity photos but I was picked from a model call by a photographer friend to do a maternity session. I'm kind of excited about that. She will be doing our newborn session also. We only did family pics for my son's first bday and will do the same with this one. I guess September will be our annual family photo time since this one will be born late August and my son was born mid-October!

britvahok · May 2017

@deansgirl No need to apologize I don't think you're being an asshole, that's just your preference. As @bumpybump mentioned safety is the main priority. We had newborn pics done with DS and the photographer did a great job. DS has managed to make it to 4 with all his limbs!!

taylormarie923 · May 2017

I have a friend who will do maternity pics and one year family pics. I have a pretty nice camera and will probably attempt my own newborn, but I'll have her on standby in case I fail miserably. I'll need to find helpers to keep the babies in place.

With DS, he was wide awake and cried the whole time. I never got any of the "classic" pictures I wanted, but I was so shocked with what she captured and love them even more. So while it's good to go in with an idea of what you want, be prepared for nothing to go according to plan.

tova24 · May 2017

@secicc12 thanks for the suggestions! I'm totally going to look into them. I love the idea of something that'll save me time and look cute doing it!

brookeelyse527 · May 2017

Def doing newborn pics. I am using a family member who has a photography business. She asked me my "theme" which got me thinking...And I decided I want a vintage feel: pearls, lace, light pink, cream, gold, etc. She has a vintage stroller we are going to use as well. The only problem is she likes to do the nb pics within ten days of birth. She said it's easier to pose when they are sleepy. But she's away on vacation 8/2-8/14 and I'm due 8/3. We will make it work!

brookeelyse527 · May 2017

@britvahok oh same. I would look so awkward!

@BlackNYellow I personally think birth announcements are a waste of money and time. They will end up in the trash. All the announcements, save the dates, holiday cards, etc I do not save. I know I'm not alone with that either. For me, Facebook and sending pics to family and friends was enough.

DeansGirl14 · May 2017

@bumpybump
ROFL! I do get a big kick out of blog posts about Pinterest fails; the ones with the baby photos are hilarious.

dma0389 · May 2017

We are doing a newborn photo shoot with baby #2 (baby girl), still debating on maternity photos. Debating because we live in Northeast FL and summer sucks and is soooo hot. I don't know if I'm up to being sweaty in makeup and a nice outfit. For sure we will also do 1st bday photos.

With DS in 2014, we did gender reveal/maternity, newborn, and 1st bday photos. But DS was born in October so the photos were usually good weather months.

Kristine11 · May 2017

We will do maternity again (DS is 6) newborn, and a session monthly. I know monthly! But I did this with DS and it was amazing to see the change in just the first 3 months. So to have a photo each month in the same "pose" so to speak was awesome. I'm not good at photography so I just took him to Picture People each month. This time we have a local photographer who offers a monthly package so it will be $50/month and totally worth it

TRA0816 · May 2017

I found a really talented photographer to do a "grow with me" package. Maternity (But really more of a family shot with my 18 month old too), newborn where she comes to us, 6 month, and 12 month. around $550 for all of that plus digital images. I thought that was a decent deal compared to others around here...

bumpybump · May 2017

Anyone care to share their photographer's work? I love looking through their work!

Here's a link to ours: https://sweetlittleyouphotography.com/

rugbybaby-2 · May 2017

Www.helendon.com

taylormarie923 · May 2017

My friend doesn't have a website, but I'll gladly AW a few that another friend of mine did during my first pregnancy and when DS was born.

littlebug2010 · May 2017

My maternity photos are being done by my cousin. She wants to become a professional, but is in grad school right now, for social work.
https://www.brookegetchellphotography.com/
We are still looking for someone to do the milestone package for us, but I just spoke with this person, and I really like her. Not 100% sure the prices are the best, as we wouldn't get all the digitals, but I like the fact that she does the photos in home, and with the whole family! Let me know what you guys think of this one!
https://www.littlebitsnpiecesphoto.com/

taylormarie923 · May 2017

@littlebug2010 those are really cute! We did ours in our home and got some photos of all of us together as well.

littlebug2010 · May 2017

@taylormarie923 I loved that she said we could include our dog if he would cooperate. Plus the fact that she would do some life style and some posed.

mrsw2017 · May 2017

@bumpybump My SIL will be doing our "watch me grow" package for baby photos (an awesome deal IMO). She just shoots on the side but she does such a good job!
https://sharonschackmannphotography.com

bumpybump · May 2017

@littlebug2010 I looked through the newborn photographer's portfolio once I got on desktop. It seems to me that she likes to use a lot of props which I personally feel distract/take away from the sweet newborn. Another thing I noticed was that some of the pictures show the faces well but then others seem to have the face kind of "tucked" which doesn't highlight the newborn as well. They don't seem consistent to me. It totally depends on the look you are wanting though.

littlebug2010 · May 2017

@bumpybump thanks for the input. She is supposed to send me a more detailed "magazine" (her words) with a lot more to look at, and she did mention that we could opt for more of a lifestyle shoot, over all posed. But I will take another look and keep what you said in mind. Its so hard to choose when you aren't totally sure what you are looking for.

bumpybump · May 2017

@littlebug2010 I remember when we chose our photographer for DD that I had a spreadsheet of what I liked/disliked about each one I looked at. Then I suddenly came across one and just fell in love. She's who we went with then (then got a bad back and had to stop newborns

). She recommended the one we're using this time. Otherwise, I'd be on the hunt again too. I feel like you'll know when you see what you want

edited for typos

littlebug2010 · May 2017

@bumpybump Thanks. Im hoping that the stuff she is going to send me will be a bit different, and might show more of the lifestyle poses, because thats what we are going for anyway. The worst part is that everyone around here is so expensive! I wish I lived a bit closer to my home town, so I could use a friend of mine, but a 4+ hour drive is just not something that works for either one of us.

bumpybump · July 2017

@emmeline714 here you go!

bubblesmtu · July 2017

I didn't do newborn pics with DD because I thought I could just take them myself and that was a huge mistake. I was way too exhausted and recovering from a c section. Plus it was winter so it's not like we had a ton of great lighting. This time I scheduled newborn pics but not maternity.
Now I just don't know what to have myself or DH wear since we will be in some of them!

smallbutmighty77 · July 2017

Anyone have chicago reference for photog? They few we liked were 600+just for newborn and only included a small amount of pix, despite them taking a ton. it was more $ for more pix. Not looking to go broke.
We need to do it in a studio since our place is a G unit and really doesn't get enough natural light. Plus I would love a few props/outfits. More lifestyle than posed, but really just not a fortune!!

emmeline714 · July 2017

Some of the pictures we took before I give birth to DD2. Now that i look at them I just feel so big.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/g3/wp6xtptdlalv.jpg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/al/cq8j3aeqmf60.jpg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/ry/oti9dbk2pal7.jpg

HappyToBeHere · July 2017

@taylormarie923 your DS could not be any cuter. That second pic literally made my heart melt.

knottie7dafb17d9cfbc6c2 · October 2017

To each their own on what you feel requires a photographer, I personally am not someone who feels professional photo sessions are something that are necessary except maybe yearly. However I am a huge fan of documenting my baby and families changes as we grow together.

I found a perfect solution for myself and my family, for the daily photos and changes that we all don’t want to miss or forget given that babies change an amazing amount everyday! I didn’t want to be that person who posts a ton of pictures on social media, nothing against anyone that does, I just personally didn’t want that to be the way I shared milestones and updates with my friends and family. My solution was the app/website Tinybeans. You make an account, and invite all the people you know want to see those daily updates of your little one, and upload all your photos there. Saves me so much time having to only put them one place and I know all the aunts, uncles, grandparents, great-grandparents etc. can go there at their leisure and see all the pictures you have posted. They can also upload their own if you choose to allow them to. Tinybeans also lets you track your babies milestones with ease, as well as edit photos as you upload. Honestly I could not of be happier to have found the app, it’s very user friendly and I love being able to look back and see how much my baby has changed in just a few short weeks!

I didn’t know such an app existed, and I saw this post and I wanted to spread the word!

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